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Beauty & Fashion 

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How can I cover facial eczema?

When it comes to covering sensitive skin conditions such as eczema, less is definitely more. While the temptation is to slather your face with full-coverage foundation in a bid to disguise the redness, heavy bases will only highlight eczema's other characteristic skin complaints - dryness and uneven texture.

The solution, therefore, isn't to try and conceal, but rather control, the condition. A skincare regime that specifically addresses the 'atopic dermatitis' condition is therefore vital. Dermatologists tend to recommend a super-simple, straightforward cleanse (with an aqueous cream) and moisturise (using back-to-basics moisturisers like E45 or Eucerin) routine, which can be supplemented with prescribed cortisone creams when flare-ups occur.

Many skincare companies promise to calm and soothe sensitive skin, and while they are doubtless effective for skin that is mildly sensitive (ie some regular-strength skincare feels too harsh) they are unlikely to really address conditions like eczema. However, I have heard countless rave reviews after recommending the following products to eczema sufferers: Aromatic Garden Essence Super Sensitive Skin Cream, Allergenics Steroid Cream Emollient and Dermalogica Gentle Soothing Booster, a genius serum that can be applied alone or added to a cream in order to really help calm irritation.

Back to your question of make-up, though. Again, think of trying to control the redness rather than mask it. Head of make-up artistry for MAC, Terry Barber, explains that 'pale green colour correctors counteract red tones in the skin, so are great for knocking high colour out of the face.' He recommends applying a sparing amount of very light green base control (MAC and Shu Uemura both make excellent ones) in with your moisturiser, or applying a thin veil prior to foundation on isolated areas of redness. The foundation you pick must be entirely hypoallergenic, non-comodogenic and as pure as possible. Don't go for anything that offers a host of high-tech anti-ageing, lifting or oil-controlling benefits if you have eczema. No frills is best - Almay make some great ones, not least because the company are so fastidious about the gentleness of their make-up that they only ever use ingredients out of their short-listed 500 (despite the fact that over 10,000 are permitted and available to them as a cosmetics company).

Why not chat to other iVillagers about eczema on the Skin Care message board. Take a look at some of the LIVE discussions happening now on the board:

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